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Few stand-up comedians have the cachet of Louis C.K. right now, what with his hit TV show on FX and a regularly sold-out live performance.

Capitalizing on this stellar reputation, he decided to film a show of his at the Beacon Theater in New York City and then sell it to consumers as a download for $5 — no middleman fees, no locational restrictions on where it could be played.

So far, it appears the experiment has been a massive success.

In a post on his site, Louis C.K. wrote that the video, which he directed and edited himself, has sold more than 100,000 copies since going on sale Saturday, including 50,000 in its first 12 hours.

He has so far netted a profit of $200,000 from the endeavor.

It would be difficult for any artist without a wildly dedicated fanbase to pull off such a business strategy, since it involved no marketing push or support from any old media partners, but Louis C.K.'s supporters are famously passionate.

And C.K. appears happy with the result as well — he said he'll continue to create and sell material this way.